


The Forest's Heart

by Xyzcl



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Faerie Marluxia, Faeries - Freeform, Forced Animal Transformation, Gen, Human raised by faeries, fairytale AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29147001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xyzcl/pseuds/Xyzcl
Summary: Namine was taken after birth by a faerie and has spent almost her whole life living deep in the woods with her guardian. Marluxia has always warned her to be careful around humans and that they only bring pain, she believes him but remembers that even though faeries don't outright lie, they like to speak in half truths. He takes good care of her though and only expects one thing from her, that she stays away from the forest's edge where the humans are.
Relationships: Marluxia & Naminé (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Roxas (Kingdom Hearts)
Kudos: 6





	The Forest's Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was written loosely based on the story The Erlking's Daughter by request. It was my first time reading the story, I recommend it if you're fine with Brother's Grimm type fairytales!

Namine stared out towards the edge of the forest from her room hanging from one of the strong branches at the top of the mighty oak tree in the center of the faerie’s home in the forest where humans rarely come exploring. The faeries were all family to her after all the years she had lived with them since she was taken away by the man who cared for her, an faerie who looked only to be a few years her elder and yet she knew for a fact that he was man hundreds of years older than he looked. That was one of the first lessons she had learned as a young child when she was chosen and a changeling was left in her mother’s care in her stead, not everything was as it appeared. She’d learned how to care for the animals who called the forest home by the dryads, been taught how to swim by river nymphs, learned from the satyrs how to disarm the traps of the few hunters careless enough to attempt to trap the animals who called the forest home, and most importantly, she had been taught by Marluxia, the faerie who had taken her in, that one should always be careful of what they say. Words were binding contracts and any loophole could be exploited, used to her benefit to have others do things that they may not usually agree to. It was a power she rarely used and one she was constantly aware of. It was a truth that the others in the forest were always aware of. Promises made with those affiliated with the faeries were not to be taken lightly and one would be wise to always make due their part. Namine had learned that well over the years she had spent with Marluxia in the beautiful oak tree that she was happy to call her home. She wasn’t exactly sure when her birthday was, even the wisest of those in the forest were unable to tell her what the exact date of her birth was according to the calendar widely used amongst the humans who lived in the villages nearby. Instead, they celebrated the day she was brought to the forest by Marluxia as the date of her birth. It was etched in a stone left at the base of the tree along with her name and they celebrated once a year with dancing and merriment on the 15th day of the first summer moon, a day where the cool air of the spring made way for warmth, where the young animals who were born in the spring grew into adolescence. 

As she stared out across the forest, she couldn’t help but wonder what was outside the forest. What was there just past the treeline that Marluxia didn’t want her to see? What was so terrifying that the dryads grew more trees closer to the edge to deter animals from leaving? Namine knew she wasn't allowed to find out herself and yet, she couldn't help but wonder if she could get away with going to see the edge of the forest just one time. 

"What are you thinking about?" a familiar voice asked from the doorway type opening to her room. 

Namine turned to look at the doorway, smiling when she saw the faerie who had taken her in. "I was wondering how the fawns were doing, spring is almost over so they should be close to full grown soon." 

"It's nearly sundown, you should visit them after dawn when they wake again." Marluxia replied with a smile pulling at the edge of his lips. "Did you eat while I was out?"

"Yes, I ate a while ago." she explained before standing up and walking over to the faerie. "The flowers in your hair are blooming again, you must be in a good mood." 

"I'm always in a good mood with you here." the pink haired male replied while raising his hand, softly patting her head in a show of affection. "Rest well, I'll be in my room if you need me." 

"Goodnight Marluxia." 

"Goodnight Namine." 

The young woman watched as her guardian retreated back out of her room and into the hallway of weaved branches carefully built in a way that wouldn't harm the tree they resided in. The strange lights that lit the hallway faded away as he made his way to his room, leaving the path lit only by the fading sunlight shining through the gaps in the branches and leaves. An absence of light in the corridor didn't bother her anymore, she had grown out of her childhood fear of the dark years before and she knew Marluxia knew of that fact as well. This was his way of showing that he was paying attention to her, a fact that made her body relax with the knowledge that she would always be safe with him. He would keep her safe no matter what happened, of that she was certain. 

Namine peeked into the clearing where the fawns spent their days playing and learning to protect themselves in the forest. There were five of them, all being watched closely by their mothers while they strengthened their muscles with play. Just as she had thought, they were all fairly close to fully grown.

She quietly sat down with a clear view of the playful fawns, the grass seeming to hug her legs as she settled in to watch the deer. Everything was calm for a few minutes of blissful peace as Namine watched the young animals chase each other around, a gentle breeze flowing in from the edge of the forest.

One of the does gave a warning to the rest of the herd before they all bolted deeper into the forest, leaving Namine by herself to look around for what had caused their concern. She cautiously moved closer to the tree she was behind, peeking around to watch for something on the other side of the tree. For a few tense moments, there was nothing. Namine waited patiently for some sign of life, breathing as quietly as she could while she waited for whatever had startled the herd to finally break through the treeline. The moments it took for a figure to finally push through the treeline felt like an eternity and once the strange human figure broke through the thick bushline lining the clearing, they collapsed in the grass while trying to catch their breath. 

Namine jumped back slightly, staying behind the tree while she watched the figure breathing heavily on the ground. They seemed to be human, a sight that was rare in a place like this. For as long as she'd remembered, the only other humans she'd witnessed were the hunters who were frequently scared away by the dryads and satyrs close to the edge of the forest. This was the farthest that any other human had ever made it, the closest she'd been to one since Marluxia took her in when she was a baby. 

She waited for a few moments to make sure they didn't have anything dangerous before moving closer to get a better look at them. The human appeared to be male and relatively close to her in age. Why had he run here? Had one of the hunters chased him in? She reached over and gently shook his shoulder in an attempt to wake him up. 

"Hello? Are you okay?" Namine asked quietly, leaning closer to check if he was breathing properly. 

The boy let out a pained groan and reached up to push away the hand on his shoulder, the motion reassuring Namine that even if he was in pain, he wasn't about to die in the deer's favorite clearing. She gently shook him again to coax him into waking up. 

"Come with me, you'll catch a cold if you sleep out here," the young woman whispered as she continued to work on attempting to wake him up. "You can sleep when we get somewhere safer." 

She could feel him pushing himself up and moved back to keep from impeding his progress. Once she was sure he was sitting up safely, Namine stood up and offered him her hand. 

"We have to hurry, will you stay here with me?" she asked while he took her hand as assistance to stand up. 

"I can't, I have to go home," the boy replied, holding onto his stomach as if he'd been hit. 

“If you go back though, you’ll just get hurt again.” Namine let out a sigh as she carefully guided him through the trees, taking him to another edge of the forest where he would be able to get out safely. “Are you sure you won’t stay here with me?”

The boy shook his head to confirm his rejection of the idea, offering her a smile. “You could always leave with me.”

“I can’t, it’s not safe out there.” Namine replied before letting out a quiet huff. Once she was sure they were away from any hunters that may have chased the boy, she stopped and motioned to the edge of the treeline. “This is as far as I go, you can get out there.” 

“Thank you.” the boy looked out at the edge of the treeline before turning back to look at the girl. “My name is Roxas, thank you for your help.”

“The name you can call me is Namine.” she replied with the same measured care she had learned from her guardian over the years.

Roxas waved goodbye before making his way out of the forest, leaving Namine alone near the edge of the forest. As much as it was tempting to leave, she knew she had to stay behind in the forest. It was safer there, she didn’t have to worry as long as she stayed with those in the forest who had cared for her up to that point. She started to make her way back towards the heart of the forest, back to her home, and tried to forget about the boy she had helped.

“Namine, are you sure you still won’t come back with me?”

Roxas’ familiar voice pulled her out of her thoughts as she looked up from the flower crown she was weaving. They had been meeting up for the past few moons near the edge of the forest where she had found him before every few days with the two of them attempting fruitlessly to convince the other to leave with them. Neither one of them was willing to leave the world they lived in and there was only so much longer Namine could get away with sneaking away before Marluxia would find out. Soon he would realize where she had been running off to, soon he would end up chastising her. 

They needed to both make their final choice soon or they would never be able to see each other again. It wasn’t safe for Roxas to keep sneaking into the forest and it wasn’t safe for Namine to continue keeping secrets from her guardian. The anger of the fae was much more terrifying than anything Roxas would have seen from a human and if he continued sneaking in like that, he would end up regretting ever entering the forest in the first place.

“I can’t, I have to stay. Will you stay here with me?” Namine asked as she finished weaving the flower crown she had been working on. 

Roxas shook his head, letting out a frustrated sigh. “I can’t, I have a home. Besides, we don’t belong here, we’re both human and we belong in a town with other humans.”

“I’ve never lived with humans, I wouldn’t know how. This is where I belong, Roxas. I don’t belong out there with other humans.” she let out a quiet sigh before setting the finished flower crown on her companion’s head. “This has to end, we can’t keep sneaking around like this or we’ll both end up getting hurt.”

“Are you sure? If you come with me, you won’t have to worry about sneaking around anymore.” Roxas explained as he adjusted the flower crown on his head to make sure it wouldn’t fall off. “You don’t have to worry about not understanding how living in human society works, I can teach you.”

“I can’t leave, I belong here in the forest. This is my home, the creatures here are my family, leaving them would mean I’d be abandoning everything I’ve ever known.” Namine replied before moving to stand up. “This will be the last time I come out here to see you, goodbye Roxas.”

She turned to leave, running off back into the heart of the forest while she listened to the boy she had grown to know call after her. Namine ran as fast as she could while she tried to ignore the sound of her name being called after her until she couldn’t hear Roxas’ voice any longer. She needed to get home, to get as far away from him as possible. He would only be safe when she was home, he could only be safe as long as she didn’t see him anymore. As long as she snuck off, Marluxia would wonder where she snuck off to. Her guardian was smart, he was cunning, he knew how to make sure he always got what he wanted. That was how he had gotten his hands on her in the first place, how he had managed to exchange her while she was just an infant in her cadle for a changeling child. He had raised her, she belonged to him from the moment he had brought her to the forest. As she climbed up the stairwell inside the large tree that her room hung from the branches of, she tried to calm her breathing and heart rate so he wouldn’t find out she had disobeyed him. Once she reached the top of the stairwell, she knew she was caught by the look on her face when he saw her. 

“Tell me where you were.” Marluxia commanded in the steady tone he only used with her when she had angered him. 

“I was out at the forest’s edge.” she admitted, finally realizing that she had been crying as she felt tears fall off her chin. “I met a boy, he wouldn’t listen and kept asking me to leave with him. I asked him to stay here instead but he wouldn’t stay.” 

Marluxia let out a disappointed tut before grabbing Namine’s hand and leading her back towards her room. “I told you, humans will only bring you pain. Here you’re safe, here you’re loved. The forest adores you but humanity will only bring you suffering. Stay here with me like a good girl and I’ll keep the humans from hurting you like that again.”

Namine hugged her guardian tightly in a silent apology as she cried into his shirt. It was the first time she had made a friend of her own without Marluxia’s help and also the first time she had truly experienced rejection. She’d never had to worry about her parents rejecting her, never had to worry about human children teasing her, all the pains of the human world were a world apart from her. And yet, the first time she had experienced rejection, there she was, crying into Marluxia’s shirt while he rubbed her back softly. 

“You’re safe here with me, I’ll protect you. All you have to do is behave.” Marluxia whispered as he guided the girl back to her bed and tucked her in. “Sleep, I’ll be back before the moon is high.” 

Namine nodded quietly, closing her eyes as she drifted off into a dreamless sleep. “I’m sorry Marluxia…”

Marluxia waited until he was sure she was asleep before making his way down the stairwell inside the old tree he had made his home. He listened to the sounds of the forest, making his way through the line of trees in the way he could recognize was where the girl he’d taken in had come from. The trail led him down to the edge of the forest into a section that the other inhabitants rarely ever came through due to risk of hunters and to a boy who was staring into the deep void of the trees, toward the heart of the forest. He made his way around the clearing the boy was sitting in, made his way through the trees until he was right behind him. 

“What are you looking for?” Marluxia asked from behind the boy as he set his hands on his shoulders to keep him from leaving. 

The boy jumped, fighting for a moment to get away before realizing it was pointless and looking up at the faerie who was holding him still. “The girl I’ve been visiting, she ran into the heart of the forest and said I can’t see her anymore.”

“Do you want to see her again?” Marluxia asked, feeling anger filling the pit of his stomach. This was the boy who had made Namine cry, this was the boy who had hurt her. He would make sure the boy didn’t get away with what he had done, he would make sure the boy suffered. “I can make it so you can see her again.” 

“You can do that?” the boy asked curiously with a shine of hope in his eyes. 

“Of course, all you have to do is give me your name.” the faerie replied with a mischievous smile. 

“Roxas.” the boy answered quickly without thinking about what he was doing. “My name is Roxas.”

Marluxia chuckled quietly, leaning down to whisper in Roxas’ ear. “Didn’t your parents teach you not to be so careless around the fae?”

He allowed all his anger to flow out of his hands and into the boy, all his frustration from each and every day he would watch Namine run off towards the edge of the forest, all his rage from when she finally revealed where she had been going during the day, all of the dark feelings curling in the pit of his stomach flowed into the boy, changing him as Marluxia saw fit. 

Roxas let out a bloodcurdling pain filled scream, his voice cutting off as his vocal chords began to change. Where bare skin had been, his body sprouted fur the same color as his hair. His body began to twist and morph into something new, shrinking down to just a fraction of the size he had been, his cries of pain turning into loud squeaks. 

Marluxia watched in amusement as the boy underwent the painful transformation from a human into a harmless rabbit, knowing that now he couldn’t hurt Namine again. He picked up the boy’s clothes, holding the rabbit up by his scruff while waving the mud stained fabric of his old clothes in front of him. 

“Your family will presume you dead, but better than me returning you to them just for them to eat you. I’ll take you with me to see Namine. You’ll be our pet, she’ll take good care of you. Just remember, you belong to me now.” 

Marluxia watched as the rabbit struggled in his grip, letting out an amused chuckle before offering the small animal a light shake to startle him. He could tell Roxas wanted to struggle, that he wanted to fight against the faerie holding him, but after a few moments and a second light shake the rabbit finally gave in. Once he was certain the rabbit wouldn’t bite him, he adjusted his grip so that he was holding the rabbit in a more natural hold so he could carry him more comfortably. 

“I’ll take your clothes to your village later, for now though it’s time to take you to your new home.” Marluxia paused for a moment before looking the boy who was now a rabbit in the eyes. “Remember, your life is mine. If you hurt her again I’ll turn you into a stew. Do you understand?”

Roxas nodded as he settled in for the trip into the heart of the forest. This was his life now, this was his new reality. Everything was going to take some time to adjust to but he knew one thing for a fact, Marluxia wasn’t lying when he said he would kill him if he hurt Namine again. 


End file.
